7 Ways to Tell if Your Phone Is Tapped

In this modern day and age, we are highly dependent on our smartphones for professional work and to stay connected with loved ones. As a result, it becomes a repository for our most intimate and vital data. But our phones are vulnerable to tapping. If you are wondering, this guide will show you 7 ways to tell if your phone is tapped. 

With the kind of tech the data breachers have at their disposal, it is essential to be aware of the indicators of phone tapping and safeguard ourselves from this looming threat. In the article, we will demystify these indicators to help you stay ahead of such intruders. Let’s begin.

1. Unusual Battery Drainage

If your battery runs out quicker than usual or gets unusually warm during usage, your phone might be secretly running a tapping software in the background. In such a situation, consider checking your phone battery usage. This will help you understand which apps are taking up higher battery life.

You can find detailed information about it in your phone’s settings menu. Here’s how.

For iPhone

Step 1: Head over to Settings.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap on Battery.

Step 3: Now, scroll down to see the battery usage of the installed apps.

For Android

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Select the Battery option from the menu.

Step 3: Here, you can check all the apps and their respective battery usage.

Monitor your battery usage for over a few days, and you will soon know if your phone is hogging up battery unnecessarily. If you discover any strange app, remove it immediately and factory reset your Android or iOS devices.

2. Strange Background Noise

Strange background noises during calls could be another sign of your phone tapping. You may hear echoes, static, and clicking sounds when on call. If the issue persists, try changing the location or test with different callers.

Some apps detect low-frequency sounds emitted from a tapped device. Install a low-frequency sound detector (Sound Meter and Noise Detector for Android and Decibel X for iOS) on a different smartphone and check if the app detects sounds multiple times in a minute. If it does, the chances are that your phone is being tracked.

Do note that these sounds could also result from network disturbances or any hardware issue with your phone.

3. Increased Data Usage

It’s doubtful that any of us track data usage, but it can help spot spyware installed on your phone. In scenarios like phone tapping, data consumption skyrockets. While spotting data consumption on Wi-Fi may not be easy, you can always monitor mobile data usage.

Here’s how:

For iOS Devices

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Tap on Cellular.

Step 3: Now, scroll down for app-specific data usage details.

For Android

Step 1: Open Settings.

Step 2: Tap on Network & Internet or Connections.

Step 3: Select Data usage.

The malicious spyware apps collect data from your phone and relay them to the hackers. This process requires a decent amount of data. Thus, tracking your data usage may help detect phone tapping. 

4. General Performance Issues

Spyware directly affects the performance of your phone. So, you will notice constant hiccups and lags even if not many apps are running in the background. The phone will start to get unusually hot even with less demanding tasks.

You may also come across delays in bootups and shutdowns. This may result from phone-tapping software attempting to remain active even when turning off your device.

To tackle this, you can check which apps are drawing maximum power to determine if a malicious app is creating these issues.

For Android

Step 1: Open Settings.

Step 2: Go to Apps or ‘Battery and device care’. You will now be provided with the app list.

Step 3: Here, choose the desired app to check its RAM usage.

For iOS

Sadly, iPhones don’t offer the functionality to check RAM usage. So, you will have to install a third-party app like CPU-X, but even that doesn’t provide app-wise RAM usage. You can only check total RAM capacity, active RAM, and inactive RAM. So, that should give a surface-level idea.

5. Check if Your Camera or Microphone Turn On Randomly

If you notice the camera, GPS, or microphone turning on randomly without opening any apps that use the same, your phone might be under attack. Someone is likely listening to your conversations and possibly watching you as well. Thankfully, modern-day smartphones have this functionality to check if these sensors are active.

You can check this on both Android and iOS. Here’s how.

• On iOS: A green dot at the top left of the screen marks that the camera is actively recording, an orange dot signifies that the microphone is enabled, while a blue location arrow hints that the location is being accessed.
• On Android 12 or later: You can look for a green icon (similar to the one in the picture) with a camera, microphone, or location positioned at the top-right.
• On Android 11 or older: Since there is no native feature to see whether the camera and microphone are active, you can download the Access Dots app for similar functionality.

6. Use USSD Codes to Find if Your Phone Is Tapped

It’s possible that your calls are being forwarded, and you have no idea about the same. Thankfully, it’s easy to figure out if someone is snooping over your calls. Here’s how you can do it.

Note: This method only works for Android phones. 

Step 1: On your Android device, dial *#21*, *#67#, or *#62#.

Note: All these numbers have similar functionality, but they apply to different devices. You can try them and see which one works for you.

Step 2: Press the call button.

A pop-up will appear once you hit the call button.

It lists Voice calls, Data, SMS, Packet, PAD, and more. If these options say “Not forwarded” you’re safe. However, if it says otherwise, your phone is being tapped.

Fret not. You can fix this by dialing ##002# into your dial screen. If you see “Erasure was successful” on your display, you’ve successfully evaded the attack.

7. Unwanted Ads and Apps

If adware (a type of malware) is installed on your phone, you might come across ad pop-ups at weird places in the UI. These ads appear frequently and would not represent your recent web searches. Watch out for such ads, as they may indicate phone tapping.

Constantly checking your app list will also help, as unwanted apps may be operating in the background. These apps may try and gain access to location, camera, and microphone. Beware and deny such requests from unfamiliar apps immediately.

FAQs About Phone Tapping

Safeguard Your Privacy

Awareness of the signs of phone tapping and taking proactive measures can significantly strengthen your digital privacy. In addition, you can use an antivirus, update your smartphone and passwords regularly to shield yourself from phone tapping.